Freight bracing apparatus



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. E. HEARD FREIGHT BRACING APPARATUS Oct. 6, 1964 Filed March 2o, 1965 Oct. 6, 1964 R. E. HEARD 3,151,571

FREIGHT BRACING APPARATUS Filed Harsh 2o, 1963 3 Sheets-sheet 2 V775 Y INVENTOR aZe7 Z. /S/@dr'if Oct. 6, 1964 R. E. HEARD 3,151,571

FREIGHT BRACING APPARATUS Filed March 20, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I. I l l l I l. Il I @D+ www w United States Patent O 3,151,571 FREIGHT BRACING APPARATUS Robert E. Heard, Plymouth, Mich., assigner to Evans Products Company, Plymouth, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 2t), 1963, Ser. No. 266,663 11 Claims. (Cl. 10S-369) The present invention relates to freight bracing apparatus and more particularly to freight bracing apparatus of the type including belt rails adapted to be secured in position along the side walls of truck bodies, railway boxcars, and the like, and cross members provided with end fittings extending between and connected to and supported on the belt rails.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved freight bracing apparatus of the above mentioned type which is simple in design, economical of manufacture and rugged, reliable and efficient in operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus of the above mentioned type including an improved crossbar end fitting and an improved belt rail structure permitting a novel and highly desirable co-operation therebetween.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved freight bracing apparatus of the above mentioned type in which crossbars may be readily installed by a single workman who may eect a preliminary engagement of one end fitting with one of the belt rails and then slide that end fitting along the belt rail to the position in which its connection to the belt rail is to be completed, and in which completion of the connection is automatically eected as the workman moves the bar to connect the end fitting at the opposite end thereof to another belt rail.

Other and more detailed objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following specification, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a broken plan View of the freight bracing apparatus constructed according to a preferred form of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE l taken substantially along the line 2 2 thereof;

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2 taken substantially along the lines 3 3, 4 4 and 5 5 thereof, respectively;

FIGURE 6 is a broken longitudinal sectional View similar to FIGURE 2 showing freight bracing apparatus constructed according to a modied form of the present invention; and,

FIGURES 7 and S are transverse sectional views of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 6 taken substantially along the lines 7 7 and 8 8 thereof, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG- URES l through 5, inclusive, the freight bracing apparatus there illustrated is particularly adapted for use in bracing freight in trucks or other installations where the freight bracing apparatus is subjected to lighter loads and impacts than is the case with freight bracing apparatus employed in railway boxcars. The freioht bracing apparatus there illustrated generally comprises a pair of belt rails 10 adapted to be welded or otherwise suitably secured to the side walls diagrammatically represented at l2 of a truck body or the like, and a crossbar generally indicated at 14 extending between and connected to and supported on the belt rails 10. The belt rails 1d may be Y formed of sheet metm or of extruded aluminum, or as in the preferred embodiment illustrated, may be a rolled steel section.

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As is best illustrated in FIGURE 2, the belt rail iti is of generally S-shape-:l cross section and the lower portion thereof includes a generally ilat vertically extending section 16 adapted to extend along and be welded or otherwise suitably secured to the side wall i2. This lower portion of the belt rail terminates in an upwardly opening U-section 13 integral with the vertical section 16 which provides a groove 2t) which extends longitudinally of the belt rail and opens upwardly. The belt rail has an upper vertically extending portion 22 which extends in spaced parallel relation to the side wall i2 and is provided with a plurality of horizontally opening apertures 24 spaced uniformly therealong. The belt rail terminates at its upper edge in a laterally turned edge portion 25 which provides added structural strength to the belt rail. The U-shaped portion i8 at the bottom of the belt rail terminates in an upwardly turned ange portion ZS which is disposed substantially in the plane of the apertured upper belt rail portion 22, but in spaced relation therebelow to permit access to the groove Ztl defined by the U-shaped portion 18.

The crossbar i4 comprises an elongated body 3d which, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, is generally square in cross section and formed as an aluminum extrusion. At its oppossite ends the crossbar body 3i) is provided with end fittings generally indicated at 32 and 34 which serve to connect the crossbar body to the belt rails. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the end ttings 32 and 34 are identical and accordingly, the same numbers will be used on corresponding parts of the two end ttings. The end fittings in the preferred embodiment illustrated include elongated body portions formed of interitting sheet metal channels 35 and 38. As best illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, the channels 36 and 33 both open downwardly with the channel 3S received between the legs 4t? of the channel 36, with the web portion 42 of the channel 38 extending generally parallel to the web portion 44 of the channel 36 and spaced approximately midway from the web 44; to the lower end of the legs 4t?. The legs 46 of the inner channel 38 are welded to the legs 40 of the outer channel 36. The extruded bar body Si) is formed as best illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 with angularly shaped bearing portions d'integrally formed at each of the interior corners thereof to engage and support the end fitting in the bar body Sil.

A sheet metal stiifener element 56 is received between the depending legs 4d of the inner channel 38. This stiifener element Sti extends longitudinally of the end fitting as best illustrated in FIGURE 2 and is generally channel-shaped with a web portion 52 extending along and welded to the inner surface of the web A42 of the inner channel 38 and has leg portions 5d thereof outwardly turned as indicated at Se to extend along the end tittings. These outer end portions do are themselves channel-shaped as best illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 and have their upwardly turned leg portions 5S extending along and Welded to the inner surface of the depending legs 46 of the inner channel 33. At the end of the stiifener element Sil adjacent the inner end of the end fitting and intermediate the legs 53 and the legs 54, the outwardly turned portion 56 has an aperture d@ which is aligned with a co-operating aperture o2 formed above it in the web 42 of the channel element 38. These apertures cooperate to support a vertical pin 6d which extends therethrough and is urged downwardly by a spring do surrounding the pin 64, the upper end of the spring 56 abutting against the lower surface of the web portion i2 of the channel 3S and the lower end of the spring acting against a washer o3 r'ixed on the pin 64. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, one of the end fittings, namely, the end tting 32, is freely slidable longitudinally of the cross- ,74 and '76.

Vport the end fitting onrthe belt rail.

bar body 3i) between limits determined Vby a stop nut 76 Y vwall of the crossbar body Sil. In Vthe preferred embodiment illustrated a second locating aperture 7d is provided in the crossbar body 3i) in spaced relation to the aperture 74 to enable the end iitting 34 to be moved outwardly from the position illustrated in FGURE 2 to a position in which the pin 64 will be received in the aperture 76, thus providing an adjustment for the over-all length of the bar to permit the bar to be used between difierently spaced side walls. A stop nut 78 mounted on a stud Si), similar to the stop 7d, prevents inadvertent withdrawal of the end fitting 34 from the crossbar body 30 Vduring movement of the end itting between the fixed posit-ions provided by the engagement of the pin 64 in the apertures The vertically disposed pin 64 of the end fitting 32 performs no function and is present only because the end fittings 34 and 36 are identical, thus providing important economies in their manufacture and in the assemly of the end fittings with the crossbar body. During the sliding movement of the end iitting 32 longitudinally of the crossbar body 3G within the limits provided by the engagement of the stop 7G with the legs 54 of the channel-v shaped stifiener element S8, the lower end of the pin 64 of the end litting 32y rides on and slides along the inner surface of the crossbar body Sii.

At the outer end of each end fitting the larger channel 36 extends slightly beyond the end of the inner channel 38 and a sheet metal face plate 82 extends transversely/.of the end fitting between and is welded to the legs 4i) of the larger channel element 36 and is disposed against the outer end of the inner channel element 38 Yas best Villustrated in FIGURE 2. The lower portion of the face plate 82 is bent outwardly away from the channel 38 to provide a generally horizontalV portion 84 and terminates in a downwardly turned foot portion S adapted to hook over the upwardly extending liange 28 of the belt rail lil and extend into the groove 2S formed on the belt railrlt? to sup- The upper portion of the iixed plate 82 is provided with a pair of apertures 88 adapted to be aligned with two of the apertures 24 of the belt rail 19 when the face plate oot S6 is in supporting engagement with the U-shaped portion 1S of the belt rail 1i) in the groove 2l) and the end fitting extends-at right angles to the adjacent side wall 12.

A latch pin assembly 9@ is mounted in the end iitting between the webs 44' and 42 of the channels 36 and 3S, respectively, and includes a pair of parallel latch pins 92 extending through the apertures 88 of the face plate S2 and adapted to extend into the apertures 24 of the belt rail 10. In the Vpreferred embodiment illustrated the latch assembly $9 is a forging which resembles a two-tined fork, the two tines being the latch pins 532 and the portion corresponding to the handle of the fork is a shank 94 which extends inwardly of and Ylongitudinally of the end tting and has its inner end slidably supported in an aperture 96 provided ink an upwardly turned tab portion 92 of the web 42 'of the inner channel 33. The latch assembly 9@ is provided with a generally ilat web portion 16) extending Vbetween and interconnecting the pins 92, and which has an upwardly extending handle portion 152 adapted to be engaged by a workman for moving the latch assembly 90. The web portion 1th? engages the inner surface of the face plate 82 to prevent movement of the latch assembly beyond the extended position illustrated by a coil spring 104 surrounding the shank 94 between the upwardly turned tab 90 and the transverse latch portion 1&6 interconnecting the inner ends ofthe pins 92.

The above described construction lends itself to operation by a single worker who need only manually operate the latch mechanism 9d-of one of the end fittings during either installation or removal of the Vcrossbar 14. For example, when it is desired to install the crossbar 14, the iixed end fitting 34 is rst moved'to the position of the locating pin 64 in the one of the holes 74 and 76 which will provide the proper length for the crossbar. The worker may then `move the bar so as to hook the Yfoot portion 86 of either of the end fittings, but preferably of the lixed end litting 34, over the upwardly extending iiange portion 23 of the belt rail 1G, while the crossbar 14 is disposed extending downwardly at an acute angle to the wall, rather than in the right angle position illustrated in the drawings. With the crossbar extending downwardly in this manner, the pins 92 while in their extended position will not be in engagement with the belt rail 1l) and the crossbar may be slid along the belt rail to the desired position of installation. The workman then raises the opposite or left-hand end of the crossbar as viewed in FlGURE 2, and telescopes the end fitting 32 inwardly to prevent interference with the belt rail 10. As the crossbar 14 is Yraised to the horizontal position, it will ybe seen that the' pins 92 of the end fitting 34 at the right-hand end of the crossbar, may automatically move into the holes 24 of the belt rail. If the pins 92 happen to fall between the holes 24 of the belt rail, the latch assembly 90 will be Vpushed to the retracted position against the actionoi the spring 104, and upon a slight movement offthe crossbar along the belt rail, upon alignment of the pins 92 with the belt rail holes 24, the spring 164 will cause the latch Vassembly to snap into the latched position with the pins 92 'extending into the belt rail apertures 24 as illustrated. The workman, in attaching the end fitting 32 at the left-hand end of the crossbar to its associated belt rail 16, engages the handle 102 to retract the latch assembly 9) and the pins 92 thereof, and upon raising the end fitting sufficiently to allow the foot portion 86 of the face plate 82 toY pass over the upwardly turned llange 28 of the belt rail, the end fitting 32 is then telescoped outwardly relative to the bar body 30 and the end fitting is moved downwardly to engage the face plate foot 86 in the belt rail groove'20, as illustrated. The workman then releases 'the handle 102 and the spring 104 moves the latch assembly into the latched position when the pins 92 are aligned with the belt rail apertures 24. In removing the crossbar, the above described procedure is simply reversed. It will be noted that preferably, and as illustrated, the end iittings are supported against vertically downward loads by the engagement of Ythe foot portion 86 in groove 2t) and Vnot by the pins 92 which resist vertically upward loads and loads longitudinally of the belt rail 10. Also, it will be noted that the pins 92 and belt rail holes 24 are so proportioned that during removal, as the workman disconnects and lowers one end fitting, the pins 92 ofthe other end litting will be automatically withdrawn from the belt rail apertures 24 and will not become bound up therein, nor willY any movement of these pins be required or Yeffected during such removal of the crossbar. Y l

FGURES 6, 7 and 8 illustrate a modified construction which is well adapted for use in railway boxcars and -the like. The-freight bracingV apparatus there illustrated comprises belt rails which, in the construction illustrated,

are formed ofV a rolled steel :section Vadapted to extend along and be suitably secured as by welding to a side wall 112. The crossbar there illustrated is generally indicated at 114 and is provided with end fittings V116 and 118 at opposite ends thereof adapted toconnect the 'crossbar to the belt rails. these figures the belt rail 110 includes a lower generally channel-shaped portion having a vertically disposed web 120 adapted to extend along and be welded to a side wallY In the construction illustrated iny the intermediate belt rail portion 124 is integrally counected with an apertured belt rail portion 128 extending in spaced parallel relation to the side wall 112. To provide added structural strength, the belt rail has an upper ange portion 130 extending from the vertical belt rail portion 128 to the side wall 112, to which it is welded as shown.

The crossbar 114 includes an elongated tubular aluminum body 132 and the end fittings 116 and 118 which in this modification differ from the end iittings previously described, in that they telescope over the outside of the bar body 132 rather than telescoping into it. rIhe end ttings 116 and 118 are the same except for the dierences resulting from the fact that the end fitting 116 is mounted for free telescoping movement relative to the bar body 132 between fixed limits, whereas, the end tting 118 is fixed against movement longitudinally of the bar body. These end fittings each include upper and lower channel-shaped sheet metal sections 134 and 136 which face each other with the outer edges of the legs welded together as indicated at 13S to form a tubular body of the end fitting adapted to telescopically tit over the end portion of the tubular bar body 132. The lower channel element 136 adjacent its outer end has its web portion bent upwardly as indicated at 149 and the leg portions thereof similarly shaped to form a reduced outer end of the end fitting body which is closed by a face plate 142 extending transversely thereof and welded to the channel elements 134 and 136 as shown. The face plate 142, which is preferably formed as a forging, includes an outwardly and downwardly extending foot portion 144 having a bulbous or beaded lower end portion 146 adapted to fit into the lower portion of the groove 126 formed at the juncture or" the Vertical portion 129 and the upwardly inclined lower flange 122 of the belt rail. Adjacent the bead 146, the foot portion 144 has on its lower side a depression or groove 147 to facilitate hooking the foot portion over the flange 122. The foot ange 144 is reinforced by a pair of laterally spaced upwardly extending ribs 14S which connect to the vertical portion of the face plate 142. The face plate 142 is also provided with a pair of transversely spaced apertures which are aligned with apertures 152 in the belt rail 11@ when the foot portion 144 of the face plate is engaged in the belt rail groove 126 as shown.

A sheet metal supporting strap 154 is mounted in the end iitting body and welded to the channel elements 134 and 136 thereof and has a horizontally opening aperture 156 extending centrally therethrough, which slidably supports the shank 158 of a latch eleii ent 16) which includes a pair of laterally spaced pins 162 slidably supported in the apertures 15G of the face plate. The latch element 169 has upwardly and downwardly extending handle portions 164 and 166 adapted to be engaged by the ngers of a workman through suitable openings 163 and 170 provided in the upper and lower channel elements 134 and 146 for moving the latch element 161i from the latched position illustrated, to a retracted position in which the pins 162 are withdrawn from the belt rail apertures 152. The latch element 160 is yieldably urged toward the latched position illustrated by a coil spring 172 which encircles the shank 15S of the latch element and acts between the supporting strap 154 and the oppositely extending handle portions 164 and 166. The latch element 16() is held against movement beyond the latched position illustrated under the iniluence of the spring 172 by a web portion 173 extending between the pins 162 and engaging the inner surface of the face plate 142 between the apertures 150 therein. In spaced relation to its opposite ends, the bar body 132 in the bottom wall thereof carries stop elements 174 removably fastened in place and including a cylindrical stop portion 176 which, in the case of the xed end fitting 113 at the left-hand end of FIGURE 6, is received in a circular aperture 178 formed in the web of the lower channel element 136 of the end tting and holds the end tting 113 against movement longitudinally of the bar body 132. In the case of the stop element 174 at the right-hand end of the bar body 132, the stop portion 176 thereof is received in an elongated slot 13@ formed in the web of the lower channel element 136 of the end iitting 116, thus permitting movement of the end iitting longitudinally of the bar body 132 within the limits permitted by the length of the slot 180.

It will now be appreciated that the general operation of the modified construction illustrated in FIGURE 6, 7 and 8 is the same as the operation of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5, inclusive, and need not be repeated herein, except of course, that this construction does not include means for locating the fixed end fitting 11S in a plurality of positions.

While only two specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a freight bracing apparatus including a crossbar body adapted to brace freight in a truck, railway boxcar or the like having a pair of opposed side walls, the combination of a belt rail adapted to be mounted on and extend along a said side wall and having a lower portion including a longitudinally and upwardly extending llange and an upper portion having a plurality of horizontally opening apertures spaced therealong, an end fitting for connecting one end of said crossbar to said belt rail and comprising an end tting body adapted to be connected to one end of said crossbar body and having a foot portion extending transversely thereof and outwardly and downwardly therefrom, said foot portion being adapted to hook over said flange .and co-operate therewith to support said end fitting on said belt rail for sliding movement therealong when said end tting extends downwardly from said belt rail at an acute angle to said side wall, and pin means mounted on said end tting body for movement to and from an extended position and disposed to be alignable with said apertures in said belt rail when said foot portion is hooked over said flange and said end tting body extends generally at right angles to the side wall, said pin means when so aligned and moved to said extended position, extending into certain of said apertures.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 including means yieldably urging said pin means toward said extended position.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said end tting body is elongated and has one end adapted to coaxially interiit with one end of said crossbar body and has at its other end a face plate extending generally at right angles thereto and having its lower portion extending outwardly and downwardly to comprise said foot portion.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 including a latch assembly including said pin means and mounted in said body for sliding movement longitudinally thereof with said pin means slidably supported in said face plate.

5. The invention as dened in claim 4 wherein said latch assembly includes a pair of parallel pins constituting said pin means, a web portion extending therebetween and engaging said face plate when said pin means is in said extended position.

6. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said end fitting body comprises a pair of similarly facing nesting sheet metal channel elements having their web portions disposed in spaced parallel relation and their leg portions disposed in overlapping relation and welded together.

7. The invention as dened in claim 6 including an elongated sheet metal stiifener element received between 7 the overlapping leg portions of said channel elements and having attaching iianges welded to said leg portions.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7 including a transversely extending locating pin mounted on said stitiener element and the web of the inner of said channel elements, and spring means urging said locating pin transversely of said endV iitting body into a selected locating opening provided in said crossbar body. l

9. The invention as defined yin claim l4 wherein said foot portion of said face plate includes a generally horizontally extending portion and a lowermost generally vertically extending portion.

10. VThe invention as defined in claim Y4 Whereinsaid flange Vof said belt rail Vextends upwardly` atan acute angle relative to said side wall and said foot portion of said face plate extends outwardly and downwardly relative to the remainder of said face plate so as to be substantially parallel to said liange of said belt rail when said end tting is connected to said belt rail and extending at right angles to said sidewall.

1l. In a freight bracing apparatus including a crossbar body adapted to brace freight, the combination of a belt rail adapted to be secured to a side wall or other suitable support and which includes a lower portion having a Y groove opening upwardly and away from the side Wall vand an upper portion extending vertically and having a plurality of horizontally opening apertures spaced longitudinally thereof, an end tting for connecting one end of said crossbar body to said belt rail,l said end iitting comprising an end itting body adapted to be connected to said crossbar body, a face plate secured to and extend- Y ing transversely of said end fitting body at the outer end thereof and including a laterally offset foot portion adapta ed to be moved into said groove and to be moved therealong while said end fitting body extends downwardly at an acute angle relative to the side wall, said face plate being apertured above said foot portion for selective alignment with the apertures 'of said belt rail when said Yfoot portion is received in said groove and said end fitting References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Herman n Nov. 17, 1953 3,090,329 Rolfe May 2l, 1963 3,115,102 Rolfe et al Dec. 24, 1963 

1. IN A FREIGHT BRACING APPARATUS INCLUDING A CROSSBAR BODY ADAPTED TO BRACE FREIGHT IN A TRUCK, RAILWAY BOXCAR OR THE LIKE HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSED SIDE WALLS, THE COMBINATION OF A BELT RAIL ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON AND EXTEND ALONG A SAID SIDE WALL AND HAVING A LOWER PORTION INCLUDING A LONGITUDINALLY AND UPWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE AND AN UPPER PORTION HAVING A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY OPENING APERTURES SPACED THEREALONG, AN END FITTING FOR CONNECTING ONE END OF SAID CROSSBAR TO SAID BELT RAIL AND COMPRISING AN END FITTING BODY ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO ONE END OF SAID CROSSBAR BODY AND HAVING A FOOT PORTION EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THEREOF AND OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID FOOT PORTION BEING ADAPTED TO HOOK OVER SAID FLANGE AND CO-OPERATE THEREWITH TO SUPPORT SAID END FITTING ON SAID BELT RAIL FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT THEREALONG WHEN SAID END FITTING EXTENDS DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID BELT RAIL AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO SAID SIDE WALL, AND PIN MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID END FITTING BODY FOR MOVEMENT TO AND FROM AN EXTENDED POSITION AND DISPOSED TO BE ALIGNABLE WITH SAID APERTURES IN SAID BELT RAIL WHEN SAID FOOT PORTION IS HOOKED OVER SAID FLANGE AND SAID END FITTING BODY EXTENDS GENERALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE SIDE WALL, SAID PIN MEANS WHEN SO ALIGNED AND MOVED TO SAID EXTENDED POSITION, EXTENDING INTO CERTAIN OF SAID APERTURES. 